France rejects Russia’s return to G7
Shafaq News/ On Sunday, French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said that Russia’s return to the Group of Seven (G7) is “unacceptable” at this time.
Barrot told French broadcaster LCI that “Russia is behaving in an increasingly undemocratic manner and is attacking other G7 members without restraint.” However, Barrot did not entirely rule out Russia's potential return, saying it could be considered if a “just and lasting peace” is achieved in Ukraine.
In a phone conversation this week, with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the US President, Donald Trump, called for Russia to be reinstated in the G7, which would restore the bloc to its previous G8 format. “I would love to see them back. I think it was a mistake to remove them,” Trump said.
Notably, Russia was expelled from the group in 2014 after it annexed Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula.
A senior adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron said an informal meeting, organized by Macron at the Élysée, will take place to facilitate ongoing discussions in Brussels on Ukraine and European security. Attendees will include the leaders of Germany, the UK, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, and Denmark, along with European Council President António Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
